Three Promises Lidl Has Made to Protect its Food Workers
But there is another group of frontline food workers doing the same, hidden from view, those who produce the products we are all trying to buy, such as tea, coffee, prawns, fruit and vegetables. Even before Coronavirus, Oxfam research highlighted workers’ vulnerability, earning low wages on insecure contracts, often with poor sick pay and hygiene arrangements. In 2018, we launched the Behind the […]
COVID-19 and the Garment Industry: Protect Workers, Transform the Industry
What is the Impact of COVID-19 on Women in the Garment Industry? Brands and retailers are cancelling orders from their supplier factories and many governments are imposing restrictions on travel and gatherings. As a result, a large number of garment factories are suspending production and either firing or temporarily suspending their workers. Over 1 million […]
How Can Business Respond to the Increase in Domestic Violence During COVID-19?
There is a 30% increase in reported cases in France and a 25% increase in calls to emergency lines in Spain. In the UK, the charity Refuge reported a 700% increase in calls to its web helpline over a 24 hour period. The pandemic is also likely to increase the amount of online harassment and abuse […]
Coronavirus measures will hit women harder than men, charities warn
Although death rates appear to be slightly higher among men, a study by aid organisations CARE International and International Rescue Committee (IRC) found women were more at risk of suffering domestic violence while quarantined. They were also more likely than men to take on the burden of caring for family members who were sick, and […]
COVID-19 Requires Gender-Equal Responses to Save Economies
Why are women so at risk? Firstly, women are more likely to lose their jobs than men. In many countries, women’s participation in the labour market is often in the form of temporary employment. Across the world, women represent less than 40% of total employment but make up 57% of those working on a part-time […]
The Morning Show: How Business and Television Can Help Us See Possible Contributions to Peace
The Morning Show aired its first ten episodes in Fall, 2019 and quickly gained multiple nominations and awards in Hollywood’s award season. The show centers on the kind of morning program popular in the U.S. and elsewhere that features a mix of news, interviews, weather, and special segments, usually including some goofy or cute ones. […]
Gender Equality is Everyone’s Business: How Can Companies Engage Men as Allies Across the value chain?
Our new report reveals how companies have a unique opportunity to positively influence gender norms at scale by engaging #MenAsAllies to advance gender equality. The global community has only ten years to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality. Yet reports suggest that at current rates, the target is unlikely to be […]
Refugee Food Entrepreneurship: How the Business Community Can Support Sustainable Livelihoods
The global refugee population is at the highest level on record and there is no sign of the crisis abating. The most common private sector response is donations to address immediate humanitarian needs. But, with the average displacement ranging from 10 to 26 years, support is also needed to build sustainable livelihoods for refugees, especially […]
Top Stories of 2019
While the social impact and business agenda is shaping up for 2020, we first wanted to share the most popular stories we published in 2019 with you. A huge thank you to the authors featured in this list and to all of you who made contributions. We hope these stories inspire you and welcome your submissions this year*. 10 Seven Key Learnings for Corporate Partnership Leads in […]
10 Trends That Should Be on Your Board’s Radar
Ten things that caught my attention on the topic of business and social impact: 1.Climate change goes social: Global CEOs rank it as the biggest threat to business. But it has taken Greta Thunberg leading six million people to strike for the climate on one day to generate a feeling of real action. The global […]
A Year at the Intersection Between Business and Social Impact
Fortunately for me, there was a role on offer supporting Katie Hyson, Director of Thought Leadership and the host of one of the ‘’. I didn’t think twice about accepting. I never imagined I would find myself working at the intersection between business and social impact, and the past twelve months have been beyond eye-opening. […]
Daring to Dream? The Realities and Risks for Adolescent Girls Living in Fragile and Conflict Affected Areas
The toxic mix of conflict and violence, poverty, limited access to education and gender inequality leaves girls and young women at high risk of exploitation. Traffickers cash-in on girls’ dreams by promising well-paid jobs and an escape from poverty and crisis, but in reality it’s a path to exploitation. As Plan International UK we have […]
Seizing the Moment: Company Strategies to Address Sexual Harassment
The #MeToo movement has highlighted how pervasive sexual harassment is across sectors and countries. These issues affect, on a daily basis, millions of women workers producing the food, garments and electrical goods we buy in our shops. Gender and Work in Global Value Chains: Capturing the Gains? is recently published, drawing on years of research. […]
Five Questions on Partnership with the Pollinate Group
1.What is Pollinate Group’s business model? Pollinate Group is a social enterprise with a mission to empower women as leaders of change to distribute products that improve health, save time and save money for the world’s most neglected communities. It was established in Bangalore in 2013, and later expanded to Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kanpur and Lucknow. […]
How Can Business Address Gender Equality Challenges Through Business Aware Practices?
This year, the first SDG Gender Index, produced by Equal Measures 2030, found that 2.8bn women and girls are living in countries that are ‘failing’ or ‘barely passing’ on gender equality, and no country is on track to achieve full gender equality by 2030. Even the higher-scoring countries were unable to make significant progress on […]
Advancing Gender Equality Across the Value Chain: Engaging Men as Allies
Following international movements such as UN Women’s #HeforShe campaign, there is growing awareness of the need to engage men as allies for gender equality. What is less clear is what this might mean in practice for businesses in their efforts to advance gender equality. Business Fights Poverty has launched a Challenge, supported by AB InBev […]
Time to Unstereotype? How Brands Are Reimagining Gender Norms Beyond the Screen
“These images are part of our past … but the world has evolved, and so has Skol. This doesn’t represent us anymore.” Now that’s something refreshing. Skol’s reimagined campaign employs female artists to tear down and reinterpret their typically sexist branding in a truly literal sense. We’ve seen for so long a familiar dialogue running […]
Empowering Women in Toy Factories: Insights from Pilots in India
Ethical Toy Program and BSR collaborated on a women’s empowerment program that was piloted in three toy factories in India with a total population of 824 workers—including 198 women. The program, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, consisted of in-factory trainings on gender awareness, health, communications, and prevention of gender-based violence delivered to ‘Core […]
Rising to the Challenge: Donors Must Change their Funding Systems to Ensure that Businesses Achieve Social Impact
The current funding system threatens potentially life-changing innovations The world is hungry for new innovations that solve some of our biggest global challenges, such as food insecurity, financial illiteracy or a lack of healthcare and education. Social entrepreneurs in emerging markets are some of the biggest innovators in providing services and products for the world’s […]
How Companies Can Tackle Gender Based Violence
Gender-based violence affects employees physical and mental health and well-being, leading to stress, anxiety, loss of self-esteem and motivation. Often women are forced to leave their jobs. It contributes to the gender pay gap and seriously affects women’s opportunities for advancement and career progression. Women usually bear the brunt of gender-based violence, although others are […]